Discouraged and confused on what to do next

[Salty0987]

This is my first post so please excuse my emotions. I had 3 cardioconversion for afib then an abalation Oct 19 th. They found a flutter while there. Went into afib/flutter and had a cardioconversion yesterday. Only lasted a few hrs. I don't want to continue to have conversions when they don't work. When I asked my EP he said this is only the 1st one since abalation. Has anyone else been through this and when do you know it is time for 2 new abalation? Thank you

[SRMGrandma Volunteer]

Hi Salty, If you just had your ablation on October 19 you are still in the 3-6 month blanking period where the heart is healing. It is not unusual to have some AF or flutter during that time. I had to have a cardioversion a few days after my ablation and it only lasted a couple hours. It took a while for the rhythm control drugs to kick in as my heart healed. Ten days later I had another cardioversion that stuck and I've been in NSR for nearly 4 months now. Your heart has a lot of healing to do. Way too early to start to think about another ablation. Wishing you NSR soon.

[Salty0987 in reply to SRMGrandma]

Thank you so much for your reply. This helps me understand.

[porridgequeen in reply to Salty0987]

Grandma is right, it is very early days after your ablation. It is the scarring of the rogue electrical pathways that will stop AF and Flutter and this can take up to six months (or more). Your heart has taken a bashing and will complain for a while as it settles down and recovers. Take things easy and be patient.

Best wishes

[BobD Volunteer]

Ablation takes a long time to recover from, from three to six months so if your ablation was only on October 19th then you have a lot of healing still to do so it is far too early to say that it has failed. I am sure that they will have explained all this to you already.

It is not uncommon for a patient to need a DCCV (cardioversion) within the first month of ablation , usually to correct a different arrhythmia such as atrial tachycardia as in my own case.

Once you heart has finished healing , say in six months time you can discuss with your EP the next phase of your treatment. Remember that ablation is generally part of an ongoing treatment plan, NOT a magic bullet although for some lucky people it can be.

[CDreamer]

I agree with all the above, it may be easier to think of ablations as a course of treatments rather than a one off. My first ablation made me a lot worse so I had a second very quickly, fortunately that did work and I have been AF free since March 2014. There are many people on this site who have had to have more than one ablation and it has worked.

There is a lot of information on this site and the AFA site and always someone around for those who need to sound off and a lot of support, expertise and experience to share because we have been where you are now.

We do understand just how distressing AF can be and how it easy it is to give up but you will find a way through this.

Best wishes and welcome to the group but sorry you are here,

[Devine75]

I had 1st ablation on sept 16th and my second six days ago after being admitted to hospital with VTs salvos and ectopics. I was in hospital for 13 days while they tried to control it again with meds increased bisprolol flecainide another fast acting one and finally diazepam. Still having flutters but came off beta blocker yesterday as instructed by doc. Everyone seems to be different but it seems symptoms after is normal but combating fear is the hardest part I'm terrified all the time that it hasn't worked but keep telling myself it's early days. The op here in Scotland you're in and out same day and the after help and advise is nil so you're really in the dark but this site is helping so much x

[Salty0987]

Thank you for responding. You have had a hard journey. I understand how emotionally hard this is. I wish you the very best and it is nice to have this forum to talk about things. It appears each of our journeys are different.

[Susiebelle]

I look at this forum everyday - it is a useful site but people's experiences make you realise you're 'normal'.

It reassures me.

Still got my fingers crossed that my INR is back up after hitting 1.1 yesterday - a long story.

I'm Susiebelle if you want to track my recent experiences.

Best of health & recovery Salty0987.

[Salty0987]

Hi, I sent my portable heart monitor through the telephone and my heart converted to NSR. This made me very happy. I have been on amino drone since October 19th and the EP said I was to take it for 6 weeks and not to read the side effects. Of course, the first thing I did was look up the side effects and I have started wheezing at night, laying down. Has anyone else had this side effect and since I will only be on the drug for 3 more weeks, is it serious?